Thursday

Mar 1, 2018 at 1:18 PMMar 1, 2018 at 1:22 PM

HESPERIA — The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management's third scoping meeting since the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECEP) reopened for amendments in early February drew a large and attentive crowd. Well over 100 people, including High Desert residents, members of conservation groups and county officials, turned out Wednesday evening at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel.

Some young members of the Sierra Club's San Gorgonio chapter held signs that read "Protect our desert," "Support Public Lands" and "Don't Reopen the DRECP." They also wore stickers on their clothing or faces that read: "(Heart symbol) our desert."

"This is an important topic for many in this room," said Jerome "Jerry" Perez, state director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). "We're here to gather information ... what you think about the DRECP. It's not intended to be a public hearing. Help us figure out what will be the breadth and scope of what we may need to do in the future."

Congress in 1976 designated 25 million acres as part of the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA). The DRECP, which is considered part of the CDCA, was years in the making and is intended to protect California's natural resources and also facilitate development of renewable energy. It does so chiefly by delineating where renewable energy projects can be situated on public lands from those lands that will be set aside for conservation areas, recreation or mining. More than 22 million acres in seven California counties are included in the DRECP, with 11 million of those acres managed by the BLM from seven different field offices, including Barstow.

Of the total acreage in the plan, 6.5 million acres currently are set aside for conservation areas (desert national conservation lands, areas of critical environmental concern or wildlife allocations) while 4 million acres are set aside for recreation (OHV areas, etc.). There also is land recognized as having high importance for potential mineral or mining uses, and 388,000 acres have been deemed appropriate for renewable energy development.

Though some have criticized reopening the DRECP for amendments, Perez stressed this is not unusual.

"Revisiting the California Desert Conservation Area plan is not new," he said, noting it had been amended 180 times since its inception. "When the plan was created ... it was significantly different than what we know today. The plan adapts through time."

Of those who attended Wednesday's meeting, at least one group is hoping no change will be made to the portion of the DRECP that deals with renewable energy.

Sierra Club organizer Yassi Kavezade said she and others with the group don't want to see pristine public lands disturbed.

"Our members have been heavily involved in the conservation portion of the plan," she said. "We believe development (of renewable energy) should be on land that is already disturbed."

Those are the types of comments the BLM wants to hear.

"We're in this implementation phase over a year," said Katrina Symons, the BLM's Barstow field manager. "We want to know what's working well for you; what do we need to adjust."

Individuals wishing to submit comments may do so online at blm.gov/eplanDRECP